The Bentley logo is seen on a car at the Grand Palais in Paris on the eve of an auction of luxury vintage cars. (Feb. 6, 2013) Photo Credit: Getty Images

BERLIN - Germany’s Volkswagen gave its ultra-luxury Bentley division the nod to build its first sport-utility vehicle, venturing beyond its specialty of sleek, growling road cars in a move that could unsettle automobile purists.

The new model, billed as the world’s most expensive SUV, will go on sale in 2016, VW said on Tuesday. The project will create over 1,000 jobs in the UK, Europe’s second-largest auto market, and require over 800 million pounds ($1.23 billion) of investment over the next three years.

Search cars

Crewe, England-based Bentley aims to replicate the success that Porsche has had with the Cayenne SUV, which was launched over a decade ago and now accounts for half the sports-car maker’s global sales.

The push towards off-roaders is aimed at boosting profitability at Bentley, which accounted for no more than 1 percent of the VW group’s first-quarter earnings of 2.34 billion euros ($3.09 billion).

"SUVs continue to be in high demand and Porsche has shown that plush sport-utility vehicles have great potential," said Frankfurt-based Equinet AG analyst Tim Schuldt.

But the Bentley SUV may face competition from VW stable mate Lamborghini, which recently won the backing of parent Audi to launch the Urus SUV in 2017, Maserati’s Jeep-based Kubang and Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport, analysts said.